Embassy in Christ Blog

“And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while and in time of testing fall away”. Luke 8:13

No doubt, so many believers are now filled with promises and prophetic words

for 2012.  “This is definitely going to be much better than the last year”, we typically say.  With varying degrees of optimism, we set on our way starting to expect good changes to occur in our lives.  The seed of the word has been sown with hopefully a corresponding harvest that will manifest all the good things we expect.

This year, the LORD drew me closer through my time with Him and fellowship meetings with other believers that we need a deeper dimension of diligence in our approach to His teachings and transition away from shallow expectations that lead to disillusionment, which ends up hurting our faith and trust in Him.

In the parable of the sower and meaning (Luke 8:4-21), the LORD exhorts us to realize that we can only indeed inherit His promises through faith and patient continuance.  This realization results in a corresponding action which gives life to our faithful disposition.  The corresponding action is the act of doing (obeying and taking heed to) His word.  The parable of the sower focuses on the seed, which is the word of God and the soil, which is the human heart.

We have four patterns showing the state of the heart after the word is released by the Holy Spirit.

Pattern 1: The word falls on deaf ears.  The enemy (Satan and evil forces) steals the word before any type of faith can develop.

-          This is very prevalent in cases where there is a stronghold against the would-be recipient.  Things like fear, pain, wounds, disappointments, intellectualism with wrong philosophies make this a clear miss.  The word is simply not received!  In fact, it many cases, it is trampled upon!

Pattern 2: The word is heard and gladly received with joy! On the surface, this looks like success.  There is some outward evidence as the seed of the word produces some growth.  Sadly, the growth ends abruptly as it becomes evident that all the growth was above the surface, without any supporting root structure.

-          The seed of the word could only germinate on the surface as the ground underneath (heart) was not ploughed, was hard and lacked moisture.

-          Many of the teachings today that do not provoke a prerequisite brokenness and repentance from sin, facilitate this pattern.  All it takes is some testing, and what is really lacking underneath is unveiled.  This happens at all levels in the church; including to the minister, who appears to shine for a while and fizzles away, the next.   The truth is that we must allow the word to penetrate deeply into our hearts and then allow upward growth to also occur.

Pattern 3: The word is planted into a wild garden – with thorns and thistles.  This is almost like planting wheat in the midst of tares.  The tares may seem complementary at first but will overwhelm the wheat as time progresses.

-          It seems we live in a continent (North America) that is like an environment filled with thorns and thistles ready to choke any true and sustained growth leading to the harvest.  There are so many cares, pleasures and riches – Just enough to distract and get even the best of us off-track!   This pattern also showed up during the time of the Apostle Paul.  Remember Demas, who loved the world so much and backslid. 2 Tim. 4:10? This happens over and over today.  Many people are so comfortable that they only show up in church to sooth their consciences every now and again.  They participate in some philanthropy and give themselves really good scores for good behavior.  Unfortunately, these also make up the class of individuals that do not know the LORD and have virtually become apostate in ignorance.   

-          In our part of the world, people work endless hours in order to have the finer things in life and fulfill the “American Dream”.  What’s wrong with that?  Nothing, except we could end up gaining the world and losing our souls.  Many have compromised the principles of God for gain.  The righteous have so much aligned with the world that both sides are almost beginning to possess similar characteristics.  Majority simply do not have enough time to worship the LORD with the level of diligence required.

-          Some fruit is produced but the fruit does not ever mature because of all the distractions.

Pattern 4:  The word is received and adhered to by a good, humble sincere heart. A sustained harvest is produced through faith and patient continuance.

-          The state of the heart (good, humble, sincere) with strong adherence (obedience) and endurance (patience) are the keys to the multifold (30, 60, 90) harvest!

-          The first three patterns (anti-patterns really) were lacking in one or more of the components described above.

It is my sincere prayer that we do not do business as usual this year.  The word of the LORD commands us to come out from among the world and be separate. 2 Cor. 6:17.

Bottom line:  Ensure to first perform all the prerequisites needed for receiving the harvest God has for you this year:

1. Have to break the fallow ground of our hearts in repentance! We can no longer practice sin, make excuses and then expect the blessings of the LORD.
2. Have to detach ourselves from the world system by simplifying our lives and ensuring we are no longer distracted from worshiping the LORD with ALL our hearts.
3. Ensure we stay the course, no matter what and believe that He who has promised is faithful.  We must remain obedient and prepared to endure to the end. We will reap if we do not faint (lose heart).

Father, please help me to align with your plans for my life and others whose destinies are connected with mine. I surrender myself to you for deeper consecration and holiness as I prepare for your supernatural release in and around me this year!

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